The Bisons had some early jitters in the first set, but settled down after trailing 16-15 at the technical timeout, rolling off 10 of the next 16 points for the win. In the second set, the Herd wasted little time, taking control with strong defence and superb play by hitters Taylor Pischke, Rachel Cockrell, Mariel Garcia and Jordana Milne. The Herd led 10-4 early, then 16-7 and never looked back, winning 25-13. The third set was a battle as Dalhousie, the Atlantic University Sport champion, refused to go down quietly. At one point the Tigers trailed by one at 20-19, but Manitoba surged to a 25-21 victory.

"I thought we played real steady and we knew it was going to be a tough match in the semis against Dalhousie," Bison head coach Ken Bentley said after the win. "I was real pleased with our poise and that we executed the game plan. I look forward to the championship final."

The Bisons will play for a CIS championship for the first time since their last CIS appearance in 2010. That year, Manitoba won silver after a 3-1 loss to UBC in the championship final.

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